National champ Dabo Swinney buries the Big Ten after infamous Ohio State shutout

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Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has reason to feel confident coming off of an epic national championship win over the dominant Alabama Crimson Tide, but is perhaps feeling a little bit too good?

That remains to be seen because Clemson has some big question marks heading into 2017 — especially at quarterback. That uncertainty certainly didn’t stop Swinney from bashing last season’s CFP semifinal opponent, Ohio State, though.

In fact, he took a shot at the whole Big Ten.

Recently speaking on WCCP, a South Carolina radio station, Swinney said he knew Ohio State was going to be in trouble going up against his Tigers. To his credit, Clemson did beat the Buckeyes, 31-0, so he may have had a small point. Still, fans of the Big Ten couldn’t have been happy to hear it.

“That’s another reason why we’ve been so successful,” he told host Walt Deptula. “Nobody wants to talk about that. Go back to last year. We’re trying to figure out a way to put four Big Ten teams in the playoff. And let me tell you, if they’d have figured it out, they’d have done it. I didn’t pay no attention to the Big Ten. You just kind of buy it, right?

“That’s just what’s out there. And then we get ready to play Ohio State and I start watching the tape, I watch every single game, and I go in and tell our guys. I’m like, ‘Boys, these guys are in trouble.’ I mean, I’ve watched the whole league. I’ve gone through the whole league both sides. These guys are in trouble. And that’s exactly what happened. Again, that’s a credit to our league.”

Ohio State came into that semifinal game ranked No. 3 in the nation and the Buckeyes did play a decent schedule in 2016. They beat No.14 Oklahoma in Norman, 45-24, and also beat No. 8 Wisconsin on the road in overtime. They killed No. 10 Nebraska, 62-3, and took No. 3 Michigan to overtime before winning in somewhat controversial fashion.

Ohio State did have a tough season, but apparently, Swinney felt that his Tigers were better tested. With a schedule that featured Auburn to start the season, No. 3 Louisville with eventual Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, a game at No. 12 Florida State, and against No. 23 Virginia Tech his logic does have a decent argument.

Unfortunately for Big Ten fans, Clemson’s blanking of Ohio State is an even better argument though, and it speaks volumes.